Baby blankets and coverings are well known. Since baby blankets are intended, foremost, to keep a sleeping infant warm, it has long been an objective of blanket designers to develop a blanket which will resist kicking off by a moving infant.
In the past, attempts to develop kick-off resistant infant blankets have yielded various methods of attaching a sheet or blanket to a crib mattress (U.S. Pat. No. 2,677,137 to Bergin, U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,831 to Fuld & Craig) or to the crib bumper pads (U.S. Pat. No. 5,153,954 to Ohman). Various types of infant jackets and fitted garments have been provided to be attached to crib sheets and blankets (U.S. Pat. No. 3,845,513 to Hubner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,052 to Bilanzich). The inventions are directed to maintaining the warmth of infants while sleeping.
Much more is known today about infant sleeping patterns. Concern for the warmth and comfort of the sleeping infant is now shared with a concern for the safety of the infant while sleeping. Since babies are known to frequently change position while sleeping, it is desirable to make the sleeping environment as free as possible of suffocation and injury risks and to keep the baby in a secure sleeping position within that environment.
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), sometimes referred to as "crib death", refers to the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant usually less than one year of age, which remains unexplained after a thorough investigation. It is estimated that 3 infants per week die of SIDS in Canada (Canadian Paediatric Society, 1999). The American Academy of Pediatrics has reported that SIDS is responsible for more infant deaths in the US than any other cause of death during infancy beyond the neonatal period (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000).
Although the exact causes of SIDS are unknown, various risk factors have been consistently identified. These factors include, prone (tummy) sleeping, and sleeping on soft bedding surfaces. Health organizations in Canada and the US now recommend that babies be put to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS.
Furthermore, it is recommended that firm, flat bedding be used with normal healthy infants, with sheets and light blankets as needed. Soft bedding, such as pillows, comforters, bumper pads, lambskins and similar products, is not recommended due to the risk of suffocation.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a bedding product which not only keeps the infant snug and warm while sleeping, but also promotes a secure back sleeping position within the crib environment. At the same time, it is desirable to avoid the suffocation risks associated with overly fluffy or soft bedding. A streamlined bedding product should also be resistant to displacement or disengagement from the crib mattress by the infant in the course of ordinary sleeping patterns.